Admission Requirements

NOTE: Applications will open June 15, 2023 and end June 1, 2024 for the inaugural cohort of 40 students. Classes will begin January 2025 pending the CAPTE decision.

Applications for Lewis University DPT Program will occur through the PTCAS system.


Observation Hours

Prior to application you should have a minimum of 40 hours of volunteer or observation experience with a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant. More than one site is recommended.

In order to give you a solid foundation to begin the program, you will need to have taken the following courses with a letter grade of C or higher with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Pass/Fail or S/U grading is not acceptable.

Coursework Requirements

Course
Note
Credit/Hours
Human Anatomy with Lab  
4
Human Physiology with Lab
  
4
OR a two-course sequence in Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) with lab (8 credit hours) Prospective students should have completed the above A&P classes within the last 10 years. Beyond this timeframe, a prospective student will be required to retake them. However, licensed and practicing clinicians may be eligible for a waiver.  
Biology I & II with Lab  
8
Chemistry I & II with Lab  
8
Medical Terminology  
1
Physics I & II with Lab  
8
Psychology Includes General Psych plus Abnormal Psych, Child or Developmental Psych
3
Statistics Include inferential statistics & ANOVA
3

The above required courses are intended to provide students with a solid foundation to begin our DPT program. Prerequisite coursework must be completed for a letter grade of C or higher (pass/fail or S/U grading is not acceptable), with a cumulative prerequisite GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

Admission Dates

  • April 1, 2024: Priority Deadline
  • August 1, 2024: Final Deadline

Accreditation

Graduation from a physical therapist education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone; 703-706-3245; accreditation@apta.org is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states.

Lewis University is seeking accreditation of a new physical therapist education program from CAPTE. The program is planning to submit an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage, on May 1, 2024. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status is required prior to implementation of the professional phase of the program; therefore, no students may be enrolled in professional courses until Candidate for Accreditation status has been achieved. Further, though achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress toward accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation.